Internal Environment
Being one of the largest private investment company, Edward Jones Company has an opportunity to obtain more patents through various acquisitions. One of the company’s strength includes its vast source products and services. Since the Edward Jones Company is organic in nature, its services are of premium quality and focus on bringing a solution to consumer needs without necessarily attracting any negative environmental externalities. The services offered provide excellent customer experiences.
The other strength is in their financial situation, whereby Edward Jones Company is ranked amongst the most profitable companies in the world (Edward Jones, 2014). As a result of being an organic company, it has strong patent portfolios, which grant superior intellectual property forming the key to a competitive advantage over other companies (DuBrin, 2008).
Industry environment
The company faces stiff competition from other companies such as the FMR LLC, Charles Shwab Corporation, and Morgan Stanely, and Raymond James Associates. These companies have the ability to offer perfect substitute products to customers targeted by the Edward Jones Company. Besides, companies such as the Charles Swab Corporation has been in the market for a longer period than the Edward Jones Company. Thus, they have a larger market share.
However, the company has managed to overcome the competition and currently control 14% of the market share (Edward Jones, 2014). Unlike the Charles Swab Corporation, the Edward Jones Company has numerous products, within the company’s product portfolio, that do not generate positive returns for the company. At the same time, the company’s involvement in patent litigations consumes a lot of the company’s time and resources, hence distracting the company from innovation activities (DuBrin, 2008).
General and Global Environmental Factors
General Factor
The financial consulting industry within the US is currently experiencing growth by an admirable proportion. The reported growth at the end of the 2013 financial year was 7%. Thus, the company is in a position to benefit from the industrial growth by expanding its scope of operations and the number of financial products and services across the US (Edward Jones, 2014).
Global Factor
The current global economic stability is predicted to remain stable for the next ten years, following the previous global economic market swings. Thus, the company’s financial focusing will remain within the desirable levels. This is an opportunity for sustainable financial planning and project implementation (Edward Jones, 2014).
Transition
From the above environmental analysis, the Edward Jones Company is positioned to expand its portfolio and sustain business in the financial services industry. Despite the threat of competition, the Edward Jones Company’s traditional approach in offering financial services is unique (Edward Jones, 2014).
References
Edward J. (2014). About Us. Web.
DuBrin, A. (2008). Essentials of Management. Alabama, USA: Cengage Learning.